First measurements of gas output from bubbling pools in a mud volcano at the periphery of Mt Etna (Italy): methodologies and implications for monitor…

2014

Gases and brines emitted in the southern sector of Mt Etna from mofettes, mud pools and mud volcanoes come from an hydrothermal reservoir hosted within the clayey formations of the sedimentary basement (Chiodini et al., 1996). The gas emitted consists mainly of CO2, with CH4, N2 and He as minor species. CO2 and He stable isotopes indicate a clear magmatic origin for these gases, and their compositional changes during either eruptive or rest periods closely parallel that of crater fumaroles (Paonita et al., 2012). Altough these manifestations are the most significant CO2 emitters outside the crater area, their mass output has never been measured. We present the first measurements of gas flux…